How To Keep Esl Students Motivated 10 Simple Tips Teachers Can Use

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 1, 2025, 3:19 PM

how to keep esl students motivated 10 simple tips teachers can use

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Learning English opens doors to new opportunities, but the journey is not always smooth. As an English teacher, you must have noticed your student’s daily challenges. Most commonly, it is about the difficulty of mastering tricky pronunciations to understanding complex grammar rules. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Also, recent studies show that most ESL (English as a Second Language) students struggle to stay motivated beyond their first few months of learning.

It is natural for your students to feel overwhelmed when learning a new language. But here’s the good news: with the right approach and support system, you can help them succeed in their English learning journey. Whether you are a professional teacher carrying out classes on Online Teaching English in Malaysia or anywhere else in the world- you need to inspire your students. You must grasp the nitty-gritty of what drives successful language learning to make all the difference. Stay connected with industry news, resources for English teachers and job seekers, ELT events, and more. Teaching English as a foreign language comes with its own unique set of challenges, especially when it comes to keeping students motivated.

Whether you’re teaching online or in person, figuring out how to motivate ESL students can be the difference between a classroom filled with energy and engagement or one where students are counting down the... Let’s explore 10 proven strategies to keep your students motivated and engaged. Goal setting is fundamental for keeping track of students’ progress, building students’ self-esteem and confidence, and keeping students motivated. Goals give students purpose, so establishing clear, achievable goals for your students is crucial. At the beginning of a course, work with your students to set both short-term and long-term goals. These goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).

For example, a short-term goal might be to learn 10 new vocabulary words related to a particular topic by the end of the week, while a long-term goal could be to improve speaking fluency... Setting goals helps students see their progress and gives them a sense of accomplishment, which is a great motivator. Read about eight engaging ESL vocabulary games for teaching in person or online. Engaging and motivating English Language Learners (ELLs) can be challenging, but with the right strategies, you can create an inclusive and dynamic learning environment. Here are 15 tips to help keep your ELL students engaged and motivated in their learning journey. Creating strong relationships with your students is crucial.

They need to trust you to learn from you. Take the time to get to know your students and understand their interests and backgrounds. This connection can help you tailor your lessons to be more engaging and motivating ELL students Selecting high-quality, relevant texts will capture your students’ interest and make learning more meaningful. Choose texts that reflect their experiences, cultures, and interests to make the content more relatable and engaging. Make sure your ELL students have a part in what the class is doing.

Modify assignments and use lot’s of demonstration in the ESL classroom so that they can participate, even if it means providing additional support. This inclusion helps them feel valued and motivated. Click here to learn more about how to use demonstrations in your ESL classroom! Incorporating your students’ languages and cultures into lessons and classroom decor. This can make multilingual students feel more connected and respected. This practice also enriches the learning environment for all students.

It won’t really matter how much you know your subject or how much material you give your students, if they are not engaged with your teaching, they won’t feel excited or motivated. Motivation plays a critical role in student engagement and success, so it is essential to ensure students feel supported and able to participate actively. Self-determination theory provides the psychological foundation for understanding motivation in students, highlighting the importance of fostering autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom. Whether you are new to teaching in the UK or you are new to teaching in general, it is important that you develop a teaching strategy which involves motivating your students. Creating a safe learning environment where students feel secure and respected is foundational for building trust and encouraging participation. Obviously, every student will be different in what will keep them motivated, but if you use a combination of different strategies, you will find that this could make a real difference.

These are some simple teaching methods to incorporate into your plan to make your classes more effective. One of the most effective teaching methods to motivate your students is to actually be excited yourself and to act as a role model for your students. If you come across as positive, happy and excited about the subject matter, your students will feed off this and will get the same buzz from your classes. When teachers show genuine enthusiasm, it can make students excited about learning and help foster a more engaging classroom environment. Ah, the joys of teaching! Young learners are so full of energy that most activities you propose are met with loads of enthusiasm.

Adult learners are focused on meeting their language goals and have a wealth of skills and knowledge to contribute to the class. However, things are not as simple with teens. Most are very clever and insightful kids, but this is not exactly the most talkative age group. Have you ever faced a class full of blank stares where most of the replies you hear are “Yes”, “No”, or “It depends”? Have you ever felt frustrated by their lack of interest? Here are some strategies that should get your teens a bit more motivated.

Consider your teens’ interests. Imagine you want to discuss last week’s events to practice the past simple tense. Will they be more interested in what President Obama did last week, or which outrageous outfit Lady Gaga wore to an awards show? If you’re not willing to discuss Eminem’s latest album, or any of the Twilight books or films, then you won't connect with your teen students. Little kids like to compete, and teens are no different. Whether they play sports or games on the Wii, they always try to out best each other.

Why not introduce some friendly competition into the ESL classroom? Games are easy ways to do this, but you can also have them compete in any activity. You’d attract bees with honey rather than vinegar—and the same idea applies to motivating the students in your ESL classroom. One of the toughest tasks a teacher can have on their plate is to motivate their students the right way. This means motivating them from the inside rather than from the outside. Let me show you several classroom strategies that’ll bring out the best in your students and get them excited about learning English.

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download) Start at the beginning of the school year with clear rules. Above all, you need to explain from day one that this is an English class, and English will be the medium of communication. Have realistic expectations too, depending on the language level of your students.

Obviously, different age groups “ring the bell” concerning language or maturity levels. Your students also won’t develop their language at the same rate, face the same struggles, or excel in the same areas. Imagine walking into a classroom buzzing with energy—students eagerly tackling challenges, collaborating enthusiastically, and celebrating every small victory. Sounds like a dream, right? But what if we told you that this vibrant learning environment isn’t just luck or magic? It’s the result of carefully crafted, evidence-based teaching strategies that ignite student motivation and skyrocket achievement.

In this article, we’ll uncover 10 proven strategies backed by research and classroom-tested wisdom from the educators at Teacher Strategies™. From harnessing the power of growth mindset to leveraging technology and formative assessments, you’ll discover how to transform your teaching approach and unlock your students’ full potential. Ready to dive in? Let’s explore how to make motivation the engine that drives learning success! Before diving into specific strategies, it’s helpful to understand what motivates students in the first place. Here at Teacher Strategies™, we’re all about using research-backed methods to help you create a classroom that buzzes with excitement for learning.

We’re big believers in the power of growth mindset in the classroom. When students believe that their intelligence and abilities can grow, they’re more likely to embrace challenges, persevere through setbacks, and achieve at higher levels. Ready to unlock your students’ full potential? Let’s explore some powerful, evidence-based teaching strategies that can ignite a passion for learning and drive remarkable results. Motivation is one of the most important factors that can impact a student’s ability to learn and succeed academically. It can be challenging to keep students engaged and motivated, especially in today’s fast-paced and technology-driven world.

But the question arises how to motivate students and which strategies can act as a student motivator? In this article, we will explore ten things that can help to motivate students to learn, addressing key question such as what are the 10 ways to motivate a student? By understanding and applying these motivational strategies, teachers and parents can create an environment that fosters enthusiasm and a love for learning. Personalized learning is a powerful way to motivate students to learn by tailoring the curriculum and instruction to their individual needs and interests. This approach enables students to engage with the material at their own pace and in a way that is most meaningful to them. Gamification is a popular trend in education that uses game elements to make learning more engaging and fun.

By adding a competitive or rewarding aspect to the learning experience, students are more likely to feel motivated to participate and succeed. It is a popular trend in education that uses game elements to make learning more engaging and fun. By adding a competitive or rewarding aspect to the learning experience, students are more likely to feel motivated to participate and succeed. This approach can significantly boost student motivation by making the learning process more dynamic and enjoyable. Thank you so much for this informative and interesting article . Very educative and interesting thank a lot for the article

How To Keep Esl Students Motivated 10 Simple Tips Teachers Can Use

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